Reboots can be fun. They can also suck.

Let's take a moment to discuss... Monster High.

Specifically, Welcome To Monster High.

Once upon a tomb, monsters lived in hiding, afraid they would be in danger if humans knew they existed. But Draculaura, daughter of Dracula, and her ghoulfriends dreamt of a school where everyone was welcome, and a world where monsters and humans could co-exist. Determined to make their dream come true, Draculaura and her best ghoulfriends travel the world on an epic adventure to recruit new students. But even in an amazing place like Monster High, there’s drama: a villainess zombie is spreading trouble rather than friendship, and every student must live with the fear that their secret will be revealed. Be there for the beginning of the thrilling and fun monster movement. It’s a scary-cool good time that will celebrate the monsters among us! Includes Monster High gift.


Release Date: 24/10/2016
Duration: 73 minutes

By now I think I've made it pretty clear that I'm firmly in fence sitter territory about the reboot/flashback/whatever this seems to be at any given moment in time. If not, we'll recap because that's what I do. :p
I've never really been a huge fan of the CGI movies and I was definitely one of the ones who begged for them to change their animation style... again. And then I kind of got used to the CGI when it became clear we were stuck with it. (I definitely was not/am not a fan of the CGI being used as artwork for the doll boxes. That much never changed.) So artistically speaking, this looks to be at worst a lateral move and honestly, it looks to be far better. (That said, the flashback scenes in GSR were adorable and I'd pay good money to see a MH special done like that.)

Doll wise, it's a case by case basis, really. I think Frankie and Draculaura are going to be fantastically served by the sweeter look the reboot is rolling out. I'm not as sold on Cleo or Clawdeen because their promos have looked pretty but exceptionally vacant, which isn't really a thing they're known for. Moanica looks pretty awesome even if those worm earrings are getting taken out immediately because they set my ick meter off something fierce. (Which gets them points for and against them, honestly.)

Story wise? This is where I've been most concerned, especially when the powers that be kept repeating that the newbies didn't mean the loss of old characters. I mean, we'll see, but I'm willing to believe for now on that front.

Then it came out that this was a flashback thing and I was really excited to see younger Draculaura/Cleo/Clawdeen/Lagoona, you get the idea. Life before Frankie, even if they'd find a way to shoehorn Frankie in, sounded fangtastic! That sounds meaner than intended, but I like prequels when they're done right and really, I'm totally on board for this.

Well. I was. Until that blurb was thrown out into the world. Really, MH? Really? We're gonna have yet another round of continuity hell to get used to? Really???
Sigh. Let's check off the things that are hurting me one by one, shall we?

One. The founding of MH as a recent thing irks me. Why? Why do we need modern!Draculaura and company to go around setting up the school? Just... why? The only thing that's offsetting this for me is the idea of getting to see the recruitment of various characters and maybe their home lives. But then I'm thrown back to the X-Men movies and those are basically a crapshoot of quality and I still have many a feel about the casting and storyline choices they used and confusing me on this, Mattel, is a really bad way of getting my money, dammit!
(I'd have totally been down for past!Draculaura helping to set up the school, though. That'd have been fun.)
Two. This is the biggie, btw. My favorite thing about MH has always, always been that the monsters don't hide who they are. It's just one of the many, many ways the Lisi books failed to get the best part of MH. Here is the cartoon, monster toy commercial utopia where it doesn't matter what's wrong with you: someone is going to like you. You will find people who love you and will fight for you and want you to fight for yourself.
I liked that the adults weren't all completely freakin' useless. Sure, you've got Cleo's dad who is pretty awful most of the time he appears on screen, and you've got Dracula who is, at best, an absentee father these days. But you've got the Wolf family who always seem pretty awesome (ignoring the recent book, I guess, haven't read it), and Lagoona's dad gets a big thumbs up. Headless Headmistress is so awesome that in order for any of the super bad things at school to happen, she has to be taken out of commission because otherwise she stops shit before it even starts. The teachers are a mix of good, bad, and delightfully weird.
As much fun as it is to have kids running the whole show, it's also a good thing to have adults who are helpful. Otherwise you wind up with a serious Sweet Valley TV situation and the less said about that, the better. :P

Sigh. I had hopes. I'd say high hopes but they weren't super high. They were maybe moderate to low, and I'm thinking at this point even setting the bar on the ground might be too much.
At the same time, I feel bad complaining because I haven't seen what they're gonna do. It could be amazing. It really could. And I hope, truly hope, that it is because I don't want the line to die. But as someone who enjoys the stories just as much as the dolls, I'm less than thrilled at this point.

So as to swing us back around to a little less whine and a little more optimistic, I figure this can't be as bad as the Lisi books or New Ghoul at School (nyargh) and WtMH Draculaura looks adorable and I can't wait for her.

Oh, and I've found the more I worry about something, the less it turns out I needed to have worried, so here's hoping that rule applies here. If it does, you're all welcome. :P

Now, back to stalking Birthday Ball Duchess on Amazon.

(no subject)

Duchess acquired!

And now we resume our naptime.